Top news stories from AMA Morning Rounds®: Week of May 5, 2025

Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of May 5, 2025–May 9, 2025.

Managed Healthcare Executive (5/2, Contreras) reported a study found that “universal annual depression screening for young adults during primary care visits is cost-effective and could even save more if health systems improve access to telehealth, reduce treatment costs or enhance treatment effectiveness.” The study “compared four screening strategies: annual, every two years, once at age 12 and usual care—which includes low screening and treatment rates.” Data suggest that “annual screenings resulted in the greatest benefit—adding nearly 44,000 depression-free days and 57.4 QALYs per 1,000 young adults compared to usual care. While annual screening added about $3 million in costs, the cost-effectiveness ratio remained within the common and accepted thresholds.” The study was published in JAMA Health Forum.

HealthDay (5/5, Thompson) reports, “An experimental drug” called lorundrostat may “help people with uncontrolled high blood pressure, according to early clinical trial results.” Investigators found that “people taking lorundrostat experienced twice the decline in their systolic blood pressure than people taking a placebo.” The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

You may also be interested in: 4 big ways BP measurement goes wrong and how to tackle them.

HealthDay (5/6, Thompson) reports a study suggests that eating nuts and seeds does “not increase the risk of diverticulitis.” Researchers “analyzed government survey data from nearly 30,000 U.S. women ages 35 to 74 who filled out diet and health questionnaires every two to three years from 2003 to 2022. The data found no link between the women’s intake of seeds, nuts or popcorn and their risk for diverticulitis.” Nevertheless, researchers found that “people can lower their risk of diverticulitis by adopting one of four common health-focused diets.” The study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The AP (5/7, Johnson) reports researchers from Moderna said in a study published Wednesday in JAMA that a combination shot for flu and COVID-19 using messenger RNA “generated a stronger immune response against COVID-19 and most strains of flu than existing standalone shots in people 50 and older.” The mRNA technology is already “used in approved COVID-19 and RSV shots, but has not yet been approved for a flu shot.” Moderna last week “pushed its target date for the vaccine’s approval to 2026 after the Food and Drug Administration requested a more direct measure: how much the shot lowered the risk of disease.”

CNN (5/7, McPhillips) reported data from the CDC and state health departments show that at least 1,002 measles cases have been reported in the U.S. this year. This marks “only the second year cases have been this high since the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. a quarter-century ago.” Across the country, at least 12 outbreaks, defined as three or more related cases, have contributed to the surge. More than 800 cases “are associated with an outbreak centered in West Texas that has expanded to New Mexico, Oklahoma and possibly Kansas.” As of May 2, the CDC “was reporting 935 measles cases nationwide,” but the agency “publishes data on measles cases each Friday.” The last year there were more than 1,000 annual measles cases was 2019, when 1,274 cases were reported, “driven by large outbreaks in New York City and a nearby suburb.”

You may also be interested in: Measles health alerts, clinical information and other resources from the AMA.

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